October 21, 2008

Empowered Survivor

I was told about Rozetta Mowery and her book "Tragedy In Tin Can Holler" by Yvonne Mason, who was Augusts "Empowered Survivor". Thank You Yvonne for sharing this contact with me!

I was VERY impressed not only with the book, but with Rozetta as a Survivor. She has taken a journey that I know many could not make, a journey back into the truth. I just had to spotlight her here in this issue, for she truly is an Empowered Survivor, that now takes all that she's gone through and learned and is going out and making a difference.

My life has been truly touched from my contact with Rozetta Mowery and reading her book, and I know that yours will be as well.

Rozetta Mowery
Rozetta is a survivor. Her life struggles began the day she was born and was taken home to a shack in a place called Tin Can Holler in Athens, TN. As a child Rozetta witnessed domestic violence and lived in poverty. Her father was an alcoholic and a habitual criminal. When she was seven years old her father brutally murdered her mother. She suffered psychologically from the trauma of her mother's death and from being separated from her siblings in numerous foster homes. She developed a speaking impairment and received treatment from a speach therapist for over a year to learn how to speak again. No one ever envisioned that this little 7 year old girl who couldn't speak clearly would someday be speaking to thousands of people.

Rozetta spent over twelve years of her childhood in abusive foster homes after witnessing domestic violence in her own home. She was also a Holston United Methodist Home child in Greenville, Tennessee. The Christian principles and teachings and faith in God, which she learned from the Holston United Methodist Home for Children, always remained with her. Even though all the odds were against her she survived and become a productive and responsible member of society. She was determined to prove to herself and others that there are no brick walls. She never wanted to be labeled, "one of those kids", whether it was because she came from a place called Tin Can Holler or because she was a foster child. She graduated from high school as a member of the National Honor Society and was on her own at the age of eighteen. The U.S Forest Service in Cleveland, TN was her first employer. She met and married her first husband and they moved to Florida in the early 1970's.

After eighteen years of suffering domestic violence in two marriages she attended Floriday Keys Community College to obtaine her Floriday real estate license. She worked for large corporations in south Florida as an executive assistant and worked part-time as a realtor in the Florida Keys where she lvied for over twenty-eight years and raised her three children alone. Because of her experience with domestic violence she never remarried again. In 2002 she relocated to Port St. Lucie, Florida to pursue other interests.

When Rozetta's youngest child turned twenty-one in 2006 she sold her home and quit her job with a major corporation to begin her quest to find out the truth about her family and her mother's murder. Her mother's spirit was calling her to return to the place of her birth and to Tin Can Holler where it all began in 1959. On May 30, 2006 she left her children and grandchildren and returned to Tin Can Holler.

She always yearned to know the truth about her family, especially why and how her father murdered her mother and the circumstances that surrounded her family. Her novel, "Tregedy in Tin Can Holler" which chronicles her life and what happened to her family, was released in May 2007. Her book is an outlet to warn others about the dangers of domestic violence and the horrible aftermath of what happens to the children.

On August 10, 2008, after spending 26 months in TN researching, writing her book and assisting with fundraisers, Rozetta rejoined her immediate family in Florida. Discovering the truth about her family changed her life completely and sent her on a mission she never thought was possible. Today, Rozetta is an advocate speaker against domestic violence and assists with fundraisers to promote and support domestic violence programs and shelters. She is also a spokesperson for CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) for children in the states foster care programs and the United Methodist Homes for Children nationwide. She lives with her daughter Natasha in Riverier (area of Tampa) where she has regrouped and will continue her fundraising efforts to bring awareness to the public regarding the dangers of domestic violence and how it destroys lives and families. She also has a special place in her heart for foster children because she was a foster child and will continue to encourage people to get involved in their local communities and to support their local CASA Chapters. The foster children need a voice and through the wonderful volunteers that work for CASA they have may voices.

If you would like to have Rozetta speak to your group, church or civic organization and hear her amazing story of how she came from tragedy to triumph, please contact Kera Hajek at 865-964-4336 or e-mail: kerahajek@yahoo.com .

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